1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for a network device which employs a MIB frame for controlling devices connected to a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network management is required to handle special activities of initialization, termination, and monitoring of activities of devices within a network. Typically, network management is viewed as a distributed application which interacts with other management processes in the network to track packet transmission events in order to provide a basis for statistical analysis of the network operation with respect to each data network switch port. The network-management system typically includes of a manager, which executes the managing process. For example, the number of transmitted packets, received packets, and transmission collisions can be counted and polled periodically. These significant parameters, termed objects, are collected in a MIB, which is a collection of managed objects. Namely, objects are variables that hold information about the state of some process running on a network device or that include textual information about the device, such as a name and description. The managed object provides a means to identify, control, and monitor a network device.
Thus, the management information base (MIB) specifies the different counters, status events, alarms, and notification to be reported for each managed device. The MIB may be different for different devices contained within the network. Through the use of statistical counters, a determination of an improperly functioning device can be made, such as a device that is dropping data packets. The MIB counters contain all the per port statistic which are updated periodically by the network device.
Depending upon the network management protocol employed, the network management console must continually or periodically poll the agents to obtain information and store the information. A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an example of a protocol that requires continual polling, and Remote Monitoring (RMON) is an example of periodic polling. Nevertheless, the process of gathering this information not only increases network traffic, but also places a large burden on the network management console. Furthermore, the hardware and software required to support conventional statistical collection protocols, such as SNMP, tend to increase the cost to produce these network devices. For instance, a device which utilizes an SNMP typically requires a central processing unit (CPU) to control the interpretation and execution of instructions related to the statistical information collected, and to control the control operations and monitoring functions of the device. However, as discussed above, the inclusion of components such as a CPU can increase the cost of a MIB device.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a cost-effective MIB device that is capable of gathering statistical information and controlling a MIB device.